Darkness
by Wafflegirl0304
Summary: After the whole Ice Cave incident, Kai and Zane have had enough of cold for a lifetime. Okay, maybe not Zane, but he still didn't want to come with us to play in the snow. It was just me, Cole, and a stupid man hole. And darkness.
1. Falling

**Alright.**

**Well, first I'm gonna clarify some stuff :) Umm so, this is like the second part of Freezing, with Jay and Cole. I was lazy to write the chapter with them rescuing Lloyd for some reason... /shot**

**XD Um yeah...I just had an urge to write this...I'm really sorry for letting you guys down...if you were looking forward to the next chapter :/ If you guys really want it, I could maybe get it up. Let me know, kay?**

**Oh and this story was inspired by Underdark, by Nekotsuki, a writer here :D It's really nice, you should go read it. The start is kind of similar to that so credit goes to her! Yeah...enjoy!**

"Aaah!"

The sound of me inhaling and exhaling rapidly echoes through the darkness. Water droplets falling reverberate in the hollow area. I struggle to maintain my grip on the cold, wet pipe I managed to cling to.

I can't see anything and I don't know how I'm gonna get out of here. I quickly tell myself not to panic so I don't completely lose it. Taking a brief moment to compose myself, I swing my legs about to see if there are any footholds or anything. Nothing.

I grit my teeth and carefully release my right hand's grip on the pipe. Then I grab blindly in the dark, trying to find anything else I can hold onto. Still nothing.

Great... I grab the pipe with my right hand again to keep myself steady.

How did I get here, you ask? What on earth is happening? Why is a distinguished ninja like me hanging from a pipe in a sewer?

Well, I'll tell you. It was another winter day in Ninjago City. We'd rescued Lloyd, so Cole and I were just having some fun in the snow. Even though Cole told me not to, since I could trigger my cold again. But, as usual, I didn't care. His leg was still injured so it didn't matter, we were even. Kai and Zane had had enough of cold for a long time, so they went home with Lloyd.

So we were running around and tossing snow at each other. Until I, being the klutz I am, accidentally stepped into an opened snow-covered manhole and fell into the sewers.

I'm probably lucky I didn't hit anything on the way down. From what I know the sewers over in this part of town are full of pipes.

So why can't I find any others right now?

"Uh...can somebody come help me? Please?" I call upwards hopefully. My only response is some banging and clanging. Huh. Better than nothing, I guess.

The pipe I'm hanging onto suddenly vibrates slightly and I tense up. Then a familiar annoyed grunt catches my attention.

"Cole?" I try.

A soft thumping noise is heard again and I feel the area to my right get weighed down slightly. "Jay, where are you?"

It's Cole! Yes! I'm saved! "Right here buddy." I reply.

Cole sighs. "Where is right here?"

"Apparently it's hanging on a pipe for dear life in total darkness." I roll my eyes. "Where are you?"

"I'm kinda standing on a pipe," our leader says. "I hooked my scythe onto another pipe and I'm holding it now so we don't fall to our deaths."

I reach up and grope wildly. Suddenly my hand comes into contact with something cloth and warm as an ear-piercing cry fills the air and echoes about the pipes.

"JAY!"

Oops. That must've been Cole's ankle.

"Sorry Cole."

"Ugh whatever...look, I'll hang downwards and then you can grab me and I'll pull us up." he says irritably.

I swallow hard and nod in silent consent. A few more bangs and a faint whooshing noise later, Cole's hand slaps my left gently. That's probably my unsaid cue to grab it, so I shift my weight to my right hand and reach for his.

Even with gloves on, I can feel the sweat seeping through the fabric of Cole's glove. Soon both my hands are on his, and as my feet leave the edge of the pipe, I hear him panting.

"Cole?"

"Change of plan. There's a pipe a bit lower in front of us. Grab it."

I nod again and stretch my leg out behind me, hoping to latch onto the pipe. A creaking noise makes me freeze in midair. Our bodies abruptly drop a centimetre.

"Cole?" I ask again.

"Grab it!" he yells, a bit more hastily this time. "I can't hold on much longer!"

As best as I can, I hook my feet onto the pipe and let go of Cole's hands. I turn completely upside down, supported only by my legs.

The creaking noise just gets louder, and now I know what it is—the pipe Cole and I were just on is going to give way.

"Cole!" I shout.

He grunts and groans furiously as he tries to get upright. Well, at least I'm assuming that's what he's doing. It's what I would do...

A loud pained noise snaps me back into reality just as Cole yells in panic. Oh brick, I think he's falling! Spontaneously, I swing forward and grab whatever I can, which just happens to be Cole's wrist. Suddenly agony shoots through my arm and I nearly drop the guy. I surprisingly manage to hold in most of a sharp scream of pain and it comes out as an agonized gasp.

"Jay! Jay are you okay? I-I thought I heard a pop..."

"Yeah..."

I'm probably not okay. My arm is practically in flames but I can't let go of Cole or we'll both fall and die. I can't tell him either, because hey, what will that do? My feet start cramping up too, and I'm kinda breathless here...

"Listen Jay. I'm gonna let go—"

"N-No! You can't let go!" My rebuttal comes out a lot louder and pitched than I want.

"Let me finish," Cole sighs. "I found another pipe I can stand on, so I'm gonna—"

I'm not the one preventing him from finishing next, because at that very moment, my feet slip and the next thing I know, I'm falling, falling, falling.

And then darkness.

**So how did you like it? :) I think it was so-so...meh whatever lol. Review! :D**


	2. Maps

**I just realised, my stories always seem to make Jay sick with some illness of some sort. o.o**

**Well, after a millennium, this has been updated! ^^ Please enjoy, thank you for your patience, and enjoy!**

We're falling.

Cole and I, we're both gonna die, all because of me. We're gonna die! I haven't hung out with Nya enough yet! My heart is thundering in my chest, my hair is flipping like crazy, my stupid arm is in flames, and it's like I'm completely immobilised.

I think Cole is underneath me, and he still seems to have a sense of what to do. He pulls me down towards him, as if hugging me, and I spontaneously latch onto him as well. Heat crawls over my face as I imagine the seemingly awkward position we're in, but I guess Cole has other things to worry about.

I can't see, but I can hear him unsheathe his scythe. At least, I think that's what he's doing...but why?

Suddenly we jerk upwards, and my whole body seems to lurch uncomfortably. An involuntary gasp escapes me and the smell of the sewers chokes me.

I then register the fact that we've stopped falling. "Jay? Are you alright?" Cole asks in the blackness. His loud and hot breaths passes my ear.

"I-I guess so..."

"Good. Uh...you can let go of me now. The ground is a little below us so it should be safe to land from here."

For a moment, I don't move. How can Cole be so sure? How does he know that? What if he's wrong? As if reading my thoughts, Cole sighs and says, "Trust me, Jay,"

I swallow hard, feeling the painful lump in my throat, and release my grip on Cole, thankfully landing on solid ground. Or metal. Or whatever they use to make sewer floors.

I feel water push past my boots, and I realise that I'm standing ankle-deep in cold sewer water. Oh, gross! I shake my head in disgust as Cole drops down behind me.

"Okay...we need to get out of here," he tells me, and I can tell he's straining to keep his voice leveled. Is he afraid? Or is it just my imagination?

"How?" I query, raising my scarred eyebrow.

"We can't go back up there, so I guess we'll have to find another exit." Cole says.

Another exit...hmm...

A distant memory suddenly comes to mind. A map.

"Oh yeah! A few years ago my dad came down here to fix some pipes, and I followed. He showed me a layout of the sewers. There are four total exits from the sewer: Exit 3, Exit 8, Exit 19 and Exit 27. We could exit from any of those." I say, my slight ramble surprisingly leaving me breathless. Why? This hasn't happened before, but eh, whatever...

"Wow Jay...that's actually not a bad idea." Cole admits. "Any chance you still remember the layout?"

My mind goes blank for a moment. Do I remember? I close my eyes and try to think.

An image of what kinda looks like a house layout materialises in my mind and I struggle to confirm the locations of the exits. It's kinda fuzzy but I do remember there being a strange indentation on the wall near Exit 19. It's like a circle with these weird lumps, and there are holes within the lumps. In the middle are the initials N. C. meaning Ninjago City. I guess it's the same for every exit, but I can't be sure.

My head hurts...

At last, I open my eyes and face Cole—or at least, where I think he is, telling him what I remember.

"Okay, well, at least we've got something to go on. All we have to do is find those indentations and we'll be home free! Come on," Cole says, a hint of excitement creeping into his voice.

His watery footsteps resound in the dirty passageways and I follow him down the River of Crud. A chill crawls down my spine and I rub my arms. I shouldn't be cold, we're not even in the snow and I'm wearing a jacket...

The darkness seems to hover around me, and I wish Cole's suit was a lighter shade so I can see him better. His watery footsteps are still loud and clear, so I know I'm not lost...yet. Another gust of unsourced wind disturbs my already-ruffled chestnut hair, and I shiver quietly. My fingers are cold. To take my mind off that, I think of where in the sewers we could be. When the water's cleaner we'll know we're near Exit 27. That's mainly where water has been already filtered and is running out to the rivers.

How did I suddenly get excellent memory?

I struggle to retain the mental image from two years ago. The growing headache isn't helping, nor is the fact that I'm freezing down here and I'm ankle-deep in murky, unseeable water. Cole's presence in front of me gives me a slight comfort, confirming my assumption that I'm not alone. _Come on Jay, don't be a wuss. Of course you'd be good enough of a ninja to follow your leader through these dark, creepy, disgusting tunnels..._

An odd sound echoes through the place and my right hand flies to my nose and mouth reflexively. Just a sneeze. I feel Cole jump about three centimetres in the air. Sniffing, I rub my hands on my jacket. "Sorry," I mumble.

"Y—" The earth ninja's rebuttal dies in his throat. "Jay, you don't sound too good."

"I'm fine," I insist gruffly, rubbing my arms again. Huh, I hadn't noticed how congested my voice sounds now. That escalated quickly. Or maybe time passes more quickly here. I don't know. Darn it. Cole can't worry about me, he's got us to get out of here first. I need to be the least of his freaking worries.

The slight tension lingers in the air before Cole drops it with a sigh. "Okay. We need to get out of here as soon as possible, then we're heading home immediately. You have to tell me if you feel worse, alright Jay?"

His tone makes it sound like I'm six years old. My now warm hands ball into fists.

"Sure,"

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. Now can we please move on?"

Another sigh, then his footsteps return in the same direction. I follow as swiftly and quietly as I can, trying not to cough or sneeze again. My feet begin to feel like lead, but I ignore that fact.

He can't worry about me.

I won't let him.


	3. Zzz

And so we continue.

This place has no light. Seriously. It's so dark I can't see two feet in front of me. That means I have to rely on my hearing so I don't lose Cole—for now anyway. He's walking really quickly. I have to double my pace to keep up with him. I really don't need another problem on my hands right now—probably not gonna be the best for my mental and physical health. As my feet move quickly, I keep my arm clutched firmly to my side. It hurts, I'm not gonna lie. I'm smart enough to know that we're gonna be down here a while and I know it's gonna ache like crazy until we get out. Might as well reduce as much pain as I can now...

I squeak as Cole stops abruptly, causing me to collide with his back. I grimace. "Cole!" I whine quietly.

"Shush," he mutters, "we've come to a dead end. I think we may be able to get up by a ladder though. Try looking for one."

Ladder means climbing, and climbing means pain. Dang. Cole's body leaves mine and I gingerly stretch my arm out to the left, coming into contact with dry wall before proceeding to run my hand along the surface. Man, I wish this wasn't so revolting. At least it's dry though. If it had the muddy water all over...ick.

Shut up and find a ladder, Jay. For heaven's sake, it's just water.

But it's dirty wate—

"Found it," The words escape my mouth before my brain catches on. I feel a bit more. Yeah, there's definitely a ladder here. My fingers close around a cold metal rung, feeling the rustiness. I shiver from both cold and disgust.

Cole comes over and the ladder makes soft metal sounds as he hits it to make sure it's there. "Seems sturdy enough. Can you climb up?"

"Uh, yeah. It won't hurt that much, I guess." I know I'm lying to myself. It's gonna hurt real bad, but how else am I gonna get up there? From experience, sewer grates aren't too wide. Even if Cole tied me to his back or something (which he wouldn't be able to do anyway) I'd end up smashing my head on the ceiling and probably falling into the water below.

I don't want to think about that.

"That's not very convincing," Cole replies quietly. "But there isn't much choice, is there?"

"Not really." I sniff.

"You go first. If you fall or need help, I'll back you up."

"Okeydokey,"

I draw in a deep breath. Right. I can do this. I position myself in front of the ladder and put both hands on the first rung I feel, gripping tightly. Already I can feel my right arm muscles beginning to tighten, but I hoist my foot onto a lower rung and pull myself up.

It feels like a knife's sliding through my shoulder as I heave myself up the ladder, trying not to put too much pressure on my right arm and keeping my head as close as possible to the cold footholds. Owwwww. Clenching my teeth so tightly I nearly break my jaw, I finally touch higher ground and roll onto the dry surface, exhaling painfully and clutching my upper arm reflexively. I am not doing that again.

"Jay?" Cole calls from underneath, his voice partially obstructed by the solid floor. "You okay, buddy?"

"...It's dry up here," I shout back, slightly breathless. "I'm okay,"

I pull myself off the floor and straighten carefully, letting go of my arm and glancing around, maybe hoping for a little light. Fat chance, the blackness mocks. I sigh and sniff again, rubbing my nose. Still can't see, still hurting, still shivering. Not good.

Cole seems able to get up the ladder more easily than I, despite his injured knee. Then again, it has been a while since he got it. Maybe the pain in my arm will wear off soon. I don't know.

I scoot backward to make room for him as his body shifts beside mine. "Geez...it's so dark."

You don't say? I state the obvious myself, "At least it's dry,"

For a moment Cole and I just sit there. I hear water somewhere in the distance, but don't feel a drop. The trickling sound makes me uneasy. Occasionally I cough or sneeze. My feet squelch in my boots at every little movement. I don't even try to hide the hitch in my breath. He's so quiet that eventually I question whether he's still right there beside me. I don't feel all that cold now—think I'm getting warmer, honestly. Fever could be back. I just hope that it won't affect me too badly. And that Cole doesn't catch it.

"Hmm. Where to now, lightning boy?" he queries, sounding a little distracted.

Right. I'm the one with the mental floorplan. I quickly search my brain, but draw a blank. I can't remember. I curse under my breath.

"Sorry Cole, but the only thing I recall is the pattern on the wall that tells us when we're near an exit," I sigh, pressing the heel of my palm into the side of my head to alleviate the pain. I don't know what kind of face Cole makes, but his tone sounds kinda forced. "Not your fault. You're sick anyway. I didn't expect you to remember. By the way, how are you feeling?"

I clasp my fingers together. "Hot, wet and in pain," I answer, fingertips icy on the back of my hands. I swear my voice is getting more and more nasal by the minute. Reminds me of that kid Gene.

He sighs. "I was worried you'd say that. It's fine though. We'll get out of here soon enough, alright?"

I know that tone well enough. He's scared I'll freak out. I'm not hysterical...not yet, anyway. It's not that bad, is it? Am I too blind to notice how powerless I am in this situation? I massage my shoulder gently, feeling the looseness of my arm. Ugh. "Whatever you say. You're the leader."

"We should get going," Cole says, and I hear him get to his feet quietly. I pull my legs in and stand, slightly shaky. The water spreads under my drenched socks. My legs are trembling. This is worse than I thought.

"So where are we going?" I ask, trying to take my mind off everything.

"There, I guess," Cole says. I blink in the darkness, confused.

"Where?"

"There," he insists, voice heavy.

"Cole, I can't see. It's dark, remember?" I say, slightly annoyed.

"...Oh yeah." I mentally facepalm. "I'm an idiot, sorry. We head right. Just follow me."

His footsteps start slowly in the direction directly in front of me. That's right? Huh, he must have been sitting weirdly. Whatever. I break into a trot after him, and the two of us are plunged into deep silence once again.

We walk, and walk, and walk. Then we climb (ouch), walk more, run, crawl, go down, and walk even more. I question the possibility of us being lost. Cole shakes me off.

We've travelled quite a distance when finally, Cole stops. I nearly collapse to the ground, thighs burning and head spinning. Instead I kind of crumple onto his body in front of mine, which cushions my fall pretty nicely.

Now it's his turn to whine. "Jay!"

I struggle to pull my body up. So much for trying to be convincing. "S-Sorry. I wasn't paying atten—"

"Wait, you're tired aren't you?" Well, duh.

"Aw dang it Jay, I'm sorry. We should have stopped earlier."

"'S fine,"

I try to go back to supporting my own weight but settle for just dragging myself off him. The floor now is harder, but still dry thankfully. He gets up and I feel him kneel beside me, his cold hand pressed against my searing forehead. I shiver at his touch, but I guess it doesn't really matter.

"Do you want to rest?"

"...Sounds good."

I sit up and feel behind me for a wall or something. Feeling the corners of my mouth curl up slightly in lame satisfaction, I shift my body to lean against the hard, brumal surface. "I'm sorry Cole," I mumble.

"Why?" he asks, sounding confused. "You didn't do anything bad."

"I...I'm showing weakness, and that's what ninjas aren't supposed to do,"

"Please Jay," he huffs, "we'll make an exception this time, okay?"

I hear the faint smile in his voice and return it weakly, though concealed by the black around us. I lean back and silently but swiftly, exhaustion washes over me.

"Sure, Cole—you're the boss."

I guess I must have been more tired than I thought, because the second I close my eyes, I'm gone.


	4. Freedom

**Decided to just conclude it quickly. c: Hope you enjoy! It isn't as good as the others, but oh wells!**

It's only after Jay falls asleep that I realise how worn out I am myself.

I shift over to the wall beside Jay and stretch out my legs, massaging my right knee tenderly. The support on my knee feels damp and icky—I think I'll have to change it later on. When we get out...

If we get out, my inner subconscious whispers, but I shoo the thought away. We'll get out just fine. We've been in tighter spaces before, haven't we? I stifle a yawn, drawing my knees up close to my chin. Now the little aches in my back and pains in my legs start to surface, but they aren't too difficult to endure.

I turn my attention back to Jay. His breathing's still being interrupted by the painful, uncomfortable jerks in his breath. Gently, I press my fingers on his shoulder, feeling the joints. Dislocation is something I've dealt with before, believe me. Before I became a ninja, I did lots of admittedly stupid and daring things. Like scaling mountains alone and extreme rock climbing and biking. I've had my fair share of pain, no doubt. Jay should man up a little...don't punch me, I'm just kidding.

His body tenses at my touch but he doesn't wake up, which is good in a way. He needs to rest. I shouldn't have pushed him so far, damnit. Guess I was too focused on getting out of these forsaken sewers.

I run my fingers down his arm, his skin hot under the thin sleeve of his uwagi. The water probably didn't help much, but isn't cold water supposed to help bring a fever down?

_Not when they're having a cold, stupid._

Oh yeah. Colds come with headaches and sneezing and coughing and pain. I forgot. I figure Jay's gonna be kinda out of it when he wakes up, so I start thinking of a plan now. Jay asked the question seemingly hours ago: are we lost? I'd replied no and ignored further questions. Maybe I should have thought about it a little more. We are lost, no doubt. We have practically nothing to go on here. Just two idiots running around in the dark, wet, sick and injured. What a great day.

It was great though when we managed to rescue Lloyd this afternoon though. I'll admit, though matured somewhat, the kid's still the biggest brat I've ever met. What was he doing trying to run off on his own? Him getting captured led us all into this mess... Shut up, brain. Just hush for a moment. Lloyd didn't get us into this, the serpentine did. No point playing the blame game now anyway.

It won't hurt to rest for a while now anyway.

Leaning back, I close my eyes.

I dream of really weird crap, like Jay busting a hole through the top of the sewers and revealing daylight. This giant slob of goo tries to kill us. The Bounty catches fire during a storm. Nya dumps Jay. I fall in and out of sleep so many times that eventually, after awakening for the seventh time, I decide to stay awake.

I can't tell how much time has passed already. It's still dark as dark will ever be. I do feel a bit more refreshed though, which is good. I stretch my legs and massage the weak spots. Then, after a moment's consideration, I touch Jay's arm.

"Jay? You awake?" Yeesh, my voice is hoarse. I clear the phlegm from my throat.

He shivers under my hand and groans a little. He doesn't say anything though, so I'm not sure if he's completely awake. Probably not.

"Earth to lightning," I speak with hopeful clarity. This time Jay's body straightens and he yawns.

"Cole? Where are you?" His voice is congested, the tiniest bit slurred and a bit disappointed.

"Right here," I tug on his arm a bit harder, feeling him look towards me. "How are you feeling?"

"Cold and sleepy." Cough. Sigh from me.

"Good enough to carry on?"

Silence. "Sure."

Jay's not sure at all. I can tell. As I rise, he does the same, only a lot slower and sluggishly. Damn. He coughs again, the sound bouncing in the black. I wish we had walkie-talkies. Not bothering to tell him where we're going(he didn't ask anyway), I throw his arm around me and kind of drag him forward.

The ground is hard against my feet, but the air smells drier and cleaner after walking a distance. We're getting close to an exit. Maybe. I trudge on, keeping Jay in tow and occasionally shaking him awake. He's dead weight when unconscious, and I don't think my leg can hold up for that long.

Suddenly, my hearing snaps into place. The sound of gravel against hard wood is like a whine in the blackness.

Manhole cover being opened. That means light, which means help, which means safety. That was quick. Couldn't have come sooner.

I don't even suppress the grin. We're leaving this condemned place! Heart beating faster now, I quicken my pace. Still dark for a few turns. Jay's breathing is choppy beside my neck. He doesn't say a thing, for once.

I hear a voice. "Cole! Jay! You guys in there?"

Kai. Holy crap, he found us!

I skid to a halt in the middle of nowhere. Look where running got me. "Kai? Where are you? Could you burn a stick or something and stick it down here?" My voice sounds amped up in desperation.

A brief pause, then a flash of orange surfaces through the darkness to my right. My heart soars. I clutch Jay's feverish hand with excited fingers and run towards the light.

Never have I ever been so happy to see my hotheaded, spiky-haired brother, smiling with relief down at me, his hand extended towards mine.


End file.
